In conventional individual section (I.S.) glassware forming machines, glassware is formed from discrete gobs sheared by reciprocating opposed shears from a runner of molten glass delivered by a feeder. The length and width of a gob generally corresponds to the height and circumference of the formed glassware.
Conventional shears have a fixed stroke which is large enough for the largest container. This means that the stroke is larger than necessary for smaller gobs. Smaller glassware takes less time to form than does large glassware and as a result, machine speed can be increased as gob size decreases. To date, it has not been possible to drive these mechanisms at the high cycle rates which are possible for smaller gobs.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to operate the shears at very high cycle rates.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following portion of this specification and from the accompanying drawings which illustrate in accordance with the mandate of the patent statutes a presently preferred embodiment incorporating the principles of the invention.